A single employee payroll software is an amazing example of how web has changed the accounting business. Gone are the days when you needed to manually pull out your calculator every time you wanted to calculate the income tax for an employee. Now, everything can be done online using certain software. Here I am talking about payroll software that helps you with running the finances of one employee.
Among the several benefits of one employee payroll software package, it is very easy to use since these are made by small business owners who are just starting just like you. If you are also a small business owner with just one employee, then this type of software is highly ideal for you. With just the click of a button, you can already process payroll. It is very easy to use even if you have zero technical knowledge about computers.
TimeTrex: Best Overall Free Payroll Software for Small Businesses
Overall Score: 4.70 OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Has automatic pay runs with free direct deposits
- Offers a feature-rich free plan (comes with payroll, time tracking, scheduling, and HR management tools)
- Integrates with other payroll tools like QuickBooks, ADP, and Paychex
- Dashboard looks somewhat dated
- Details about the free option and paid plans are difficult to find on its website; pricing isn’t transparent
- Doesn’t handle payroll tax filings
TimeTrex Pricing
- Free version: Payroll software free forever with no employee minimums
- Paid options: Three custom-priced product editions (Professional, Corporate, and Enterprise) that include basic HR, recruiting, time tracking, scheduling, payroll, invoicing, and expense tracking functionalities
Read Full ReviewVisit TimeTrex
TimeTrex is our top-recommended free payroll software for small businesses because it does more than Payroll4Free and HR.my. Aside from pay processing, it has time tracking, scheduling, paid time off (PTO) monitoring, and HR management solutions that you can access at no cost. You even get an online time clock that lets your employees clock-in/out through web browsers.
Scoring an overall 4.7 out of 5, with perfect marks in nearly all our criteria, TimeTrex would have gotten a 5 out 5 in our evaluation if not for its limited payroll tax services. While it calculates federal, state, and local taxes in addition to generating tax forms (like W-2s and 1099s), TimeTrex doesn’t remit and file taxes for you. However, users still appreciate its user-friendly platform that makes pay processing easy. If you need tax filing services, you may want to consider Payroll4Free.com, but it isn’t free—you have to pay $15 per month.
TimeTrex has a payroll wizard to help guide you through the process.
TimeTrex Pricing
You can access TimeTrex’s free payroll software through its Community Edition solution, which is a downloadable open-source workforce management platform. What’s great about it is that there are no employee limits, and you get basic HR and payroll tools for free.
TimeTrex offers three paid product editions (Professional, Corporate, and Enterprise) with additional features like facial recognition tablet time clocks, document management, applicant tracking, invoicing, and expense monitoring. However, pricing isn’t transparent—you have to call the provider to request a quote.
The representative we contacted said that pricing is based on the number of employees you have and the system deployment option selected (cloud-hosted or on-site). For a cloud-based version of its Professional Edition, you have to pay $3 per employee monthly for 10 employees. There’s also an account activation fee of $99.
TimeTrex Features
- Feature-rich free tier: Even at its free level, TimeTrex grants you access to several integrated solutions designed to help you manage your workforce. You get online tools to create schedules, capture clock-ins/outs, track attendance, monitor PTO, pay employees, conduct performance reviews, and record staff information in a centralized database. This is more than what Payroll4Free.com offers (it doesn’t have free HR tools) and what HR.my provides as part of its forever-free solution (which doesn’t have performance reviews).
- Online time tracking: TimeTrex has robust time tracking capabilities—making it one of our leading time and attendance software for small businesses. Its web browser-based time clock allows you to turn computers into employee time tracking devices. However, geofencing capabilities, facial recognition time clocks, and mobile time tracking apps aren’t included in its free Community Edition. If you require geolocation and face verification tools to prevent buddy punching, we recommend HR.my as it offers those functionalities for free.
- Efficient pay processing: With TimeTrex’s efficient payroll tools, you don’t have to worry about doing payroll yourself. In addition to automatic payroll runs, it automatically calculates taxes and custom deductions like garnishments, PTO accruals, and benefits. It also offers electronic pay stubs, free direct deposits, and pay checks that you can print in several formats.
- Third-party software integrations: TimeTrex seamlessly integrates with other payroll software like QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, Ceridian, and Sage. Note that HR.my doesn’t have this functionality, while Payroll4Free.com has limited options and connects with other software through payroll data exports and time data imports.
- Custom reporting: Aside from standard payroll, HR, and employee reports, TimeTrex has built-in templates that you can customize.
TimeTrex’s Drawback
- Basic payroll tax services: With TimeTrex’s free payroll software, you have to handle tax payments and filings yourself. If you don’t want do-it-yourself (DIY) taxes and you’re willing to pay extra, consider Payroll4Free as it offers automated tax filing services for $15 monthly.
Payroll4Free: Best for Companies With 25 or Fewer Employees
Overall Score: 3.55 OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Free-forever payroll services with essential online tools (including an employee portal)
- Email and phone support with access to payroll and tax experts
- Tax filings and direct deposits (not using own bank) are affordable add-ons
- Free only for 25 or fewer employees
- Limited system compatibility (Windows only)
- Payroll software comes with ads; interface looks outdated
Payroll4Free Pricing
- Free version: Payroll software free for those with 25 or fewer workers
- Add-ons:
- Payroll tax payments and filings: $15 monthly
- Direct deposit transfers using Payroll4Free’s bank account: $15 monthly
Read Full ReviewVisit Payroll4Free
Payroll4Free is a popular free payroll software for businesses with 25 or fewer employees. It calculates payroll and taxes, tracks PTO accruals, prints paychecks, and provides free direct deposits if you use your own bank. The software can also handle year-end tax reports (W-2s and 1099s), providing you with pre-formatted forms to send to the government. If you want Payroll4Free.com to file your tax forms, you have to pay $15 per month.
In our evaluation, Payroll4Free earned a score of 3.55 out of 5. It would have ranked higher if it didn’t have an employee limit (for 25 and fewer employees only) and if it offered tax filings for free. Some users even said that its platform is unintuitive, often taking extra steps to complete what a paid program can do in a single click. They also don’t appreciate the ads that appear while using the tool.
Payroll4Free Pricing
Payroll4Free.com is free to use—if your business has 25 or fewer employees. While it earns money through small ads placed inside the software, it also collects fees from the following payroll services that you can purchase as add-ons.
- Payroll tax deposits and filings, including year-end reporting: $15 per month
- Direct deposits using Payroll4Free.com’s bank*: $15 per month
*This requires a security deposit equal to the highest estimated net payroll you plan to process in a seven-day period.
Payroll4Free Features
- Efficient pay processing: In addition to paying employees and calculating taxes (federal, state, and local) for free, it allows you to set up any kind of deduction, contribution, and earning. Payroll4Free.com will automatically compute it—provided you have specified how these items should be calculated. Note that it doesn’t have the integrated time tracking tools that both TimeTrex and HR.my provide for free. You have to manually import time data into its system before you can run payroll.
- Check printing setup assistance: If you prefer to pay employees via checks, Payroll4Free.com can help set up its software to add any data you want to appear on the check. You won’t get the said free service with both HR.my and TimeTrex.
- Access to payroll and tax experts: Aside from unlimited customer support, Payroll4Free.com has a team of experienced payroll and tax specialists that you can contact if you have queries or need payroll advice. However, it doesn’t have the community forum that TimeTrex and HR.my offer, which allows you to get input from other business owners and HR professionals.
- Custom reporting: You get custom and detailed reports, enabling you to stay up-to-date with payroll information, tax details, PTO accruals, and employee deductions. It has several reporting options, but the choices aren’t as robust as HR.my and TimeTrex—simply because these two providers’ free packages include other HR solutions, so you may run non-payroll reports.
Payroll4Free’s Drawbacks
- 25 employee limit: Unless you have a workforce that doesn’t exceed Payroll4Free’s limit, you can continue using its software for free. For companies that have more than 25 staff, consider either TimeTrex and HR.my—both allow you to process payroll for unlimited employees at no cost.
- Paid payroll tax filings: Payroll4Free only calculates taxes and provides filled-out tax forms that you can use to file taxes. While it can remit the payments and file the forms (including year-end tax forms) for you, this service costs $15 per month.
Gusto
Gusto offers three thoughtful tiers for small to midsize companies that need payroll with a few helpings of human resources (HR) features, making it the best overall choice. Each plan includes full-service automated payroll that’s suitable for almost any business, depending on needs.Pros
- Affordable, but good value
- Unlimited payroll runs
- Paid time off (PTO) tracking available
- Full-service payroll available in all states
- Basic reports included at all tiers
Cons
- Next day direct deposit available only in the Complete and Concierge plans
- Dedicated support only for Concierge subscribers
Gusto is similar to other payroll software solutions in that it offers direct deposit or checks to pay your employees. It also tracks and files federal, state, and local taxes automatically. What sets Gusto apart from the other options is that it offers a better plan for each tier that you go up. Rather than removing direct deposit for the low-priced plan, Gusto increases the convenience of direct deposit the more expensive your plan. For example, direct deposit takes up to four days to clear for the lowest plan, but the high-tier plans get next-day direct deposit.
The Core plan from Gusto costs $39 per month, and $6 per employee per month, making it one of the most affordable choices for a full-service payroll plan. The Complete plan is also $39 per month, but the cost per employee is $12, and you’ll be able to offer next-day direct deposit. The Concierge plan is $149 per month and $12 per person and offers dedicated support and compliance alerts.
BEST REPORTINGPaychex Flex
Paychex Flex offers more than 160 reports for you to get a clear look at wages, taxes, turnover, and more. Paychex is our best reporting option because it checks almost all the boxes for what you’d want in payroll software when it comes to reports and data. It also automatically files your payroll taxes, ensures compliance, and includes integrations with important programs you also use, such as accounting and benefits apps.Pros
- 24/7 support
- Easy to use
- HR add-on options
- Robust reporting feature
Cons
- Hidden fees for setup & EOY tax docs
- Mixed reviews from users regarding support
There’s a lot to like about Paychex. The payroll software makes it easy to set up and run payroll, it automates the submission of federal, state, and local payroll taxes, and it offers plenty of upgrade options, which you may need as your business grows. Still, the basic reporting you get from Paychex could be worth the monthly fee alone, giving it the edge in this category. Plus, you’ll be able to add any other data field you’d like, thanks to custom fields, which is rare for small business online payroll services.
While the Paychex Flex Essentials plan is $39 per month and $5 per employee, it’s difficult to say how much Paychex will cost you for the more comprehensive plans—Paychex Flex Select and Paychex Flex Pro—unless you go through the process of getting a custom quote.
One of the most important aspects of a good online payroll solution is whether it integrates with software you already use. Paychex does integrate with QuickBooks and Xero accounting software, plus many health insurance and benefits apps, time tracking and attendance software, and HR software.
Conclusion
If you’re a small business, hire one employee, and you’re using a payroll program to take care of the entire payroll, it’s worth knowing what kind of payroll software is available for your situation. Because no two small businesses are alike, there are many different kinds of payroll options out there. If you have a small company with one employee, paying yourself a modest salary and paying an independent contractor for their work as-needed, there are probably more than a few pieces of software on the market that could serve you well.